TOP FIVE

(directed by Chris Rock, 2014)

*****(out of 5)

*

> Chris Rock has always been a very funny man, with a sharp ear for the language of the street and no leeway for hypocrisy or pretense.

. He became an accomplished documentarian with GOOD HAIR in 2009. His acting chops were always a bit too broadly drawn to be very effective, but as he matures as a man, a filmmaker, and a very funny social critic, the subtlety and realism of his acting have also grown considerably. Here, he is a triple threat: star, writer and director, and he excels beautifully at all three!

. Perhaps it helped that he did not invent an entirely new character for himself, but rather created a character that was not far removed from his own reality. TOP FIVE is the story of a successful comic and mainstream filmmaker who stopped having faith in his ability to be funny when he admitted his alcoholism and stopped drinking. The stunning and delightful Rosario Dawson is his foil- a New York Times feature writer doing a story on him, until things get complicated.